Video Shows Anti-Tank Missile Penetrating a Cask Used for Shipping
Spent Nuclear Fuels, But Cask in Video was More Fragile than the
Genuine Article; Repository Important to Anti-Terrorism Efforts

A dramatic video being circulated by U.S. Representative Shelly
Berkley (D-NV), which purports to show an anti-tank missile penetrating
a cask used for shipping spent nuclear fuel, is deceptive in the
fact that it is not representative of normal nuclear shipping
materials. Environmental and energy experts affiliated with The
National Center for Public Policy Research say Representative
Berkley's claim that the video proves "it is inherently dangerous
to transport... toxic nuclear waste" is a disingenuous attempt
to stop the Bush Administration's plans to open the nuclear fuel
repository built at Yucca Mountain near Las Vegas, Nevada.

"The real message of the test and video, as described
by the Las Vegas Sun and other media, shows the level of deception
some will use to advance a political agenda," said Tom Randall,
director of The National Center's John P. McGovern MD Center for
Environmental and Regulatory Affairs.

The alleged nuclear shipping cask used in the video was made
of cast iron, which is many times more fragile and brittle than
the steel alloy used in real nuclear fuel shipping casks. Furthermore,
the damage to the phony cask was actually created by a carefully
placed explosive device intended to simulate an anti-tank missile.
It is also reported that the "test" shown in the video
was sponsored by International Fuel Containers, a company attempting
to sell material for protecting casks.

A more accurate test of the safety of nuclear casks was conducted
by Sandia National Laboratory in 1982. In this test, conducted
on a regular steel cask, damage was limited to a hole the size
of a softball. Other Sandia tests subjected casks to intense fire
and collisions with trains and trucks at over 70 miles per hour.
No significant damage resulted. Contradicting reports and claims
made by Nevada officials, nuclear physicists have told The National
Center that it is highly unlikely that such damage would result
in any human harm.

Randall noted that the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Repository, once
opened, will be an important tool in making the nation less vulnerable
to terrorism: "The real vulnerability of nuclear material
to terrorist attack is leaving spent fuel on-site at nuclear power
generating facilities."

The John P. McGovern, MD Center for Environmental and Regulatory
Affairs is a project of The National Center For Public Policy
Research, a non-partisan, non-profit education foundation. For
more information, contact Tom Randall at T773-857-5086 or [email protected].